August 9th, 2007 – After an exhaustive and competitive evaluation, the Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Virginia has chosen Goss International to rebuild its five Goss Metroliner presses and to convert 30 pasters to Goss Digital Paster Systems. The units and folder rebuild will be completed in early 2009, while the RTP upgrade will be finished in 2008.
Al Byrd, press operations manager at the Virginian-Pilot, stated that, “the press was nearly thirty years old and was worn out. After a thorough discussion about whether to rebuild or replace the press, we decided that rebuilding was the best decision for us." Byrd sought a comprehensive press audit by Goss International, which he says helped to determine the precise scope of the project.
The Virginian-Pilot solicited bids on the units and folder project before finally awarding the contract to Goss International. "We chose them because of their price, overall strategy, and because they knew the press the best,” Byrd added. "The press rebuild is already underway and on schedule. They have done an excellent job of preparing us for each step in the process, so there have been no surprises."
In selecting a supplier to upgrade its RTPs, the Virginian-Pilot took a different approach and asked Goss International and another vendor to each rebuild a single RTP unit. "After three months of testing," Byrd explained, "Goss International was the clear winner based on the performance of the RTP."
“Winning a one-to-one comparison is the best way to demonstrate why we should be the first and best choice when publishers think of rebuilding and enhancing their Goss press lines,” according to Greg Blue, senior vice president for Goss International. "In addition, the experience of the Virginian-Pilot confirms our conviction that the first step before doing any major rebuild is to conduct a complete and thorough press audit. As the company with the original documentation and the most experience with Goss presses, we are the best qualified to perform such an audit."
The Virginian-Pilot has a daily circulation of over 200,000 newspapers.